Mark Twain

Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835–1910) was an American writer, humorist, and satirist, best known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), which are considered classics of American literature. Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, he grew up in Hannibal, a small town on the Mississippi River that inspired the setting of his works. After his father's death in 1847, Twain left school and worked as a printer's assistant, which introduced him to journalism.

In 1857, he became a pilot on Mississippi steamboats, and the pseudonym "Mark Twain" ("two fathom mark") comes from river terminology. During the Civil War, he briefly served in the Confederate militia, but devoted himself to writing. His first successful novel, the short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865), brought him fame. Works such as The Innocents Abroad (1869) and Life on the Mississippi (1883) blend travelogue, humor, and social criticism. Huckleberry Finn explores themes of slavery, morality, and freedom through the adventures of a boy and a runaway slave, Jim. Twain's sharp humor and satire, such as that in A Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889), mock social norms.

Despite his literary success, he faced financial problems due to bad investments. He lectured around the world and wrote for the rest of his life. He died on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut.